1.
Gomel
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Gomel is the administrative centre of Gomel Voblast and with 526,872 inhabitants the second-most populous city of Belarus. There are at least six narratives of the origin of the city’s Belarusian name, one of the more plausible is that the name is derived from the name of the stream Homeyuk, which flowed into river Sozh near the foot of the hill where the first settlement was founded. Names of other Belarusian cities are formed along these lines, for example, the name Minsk is derived from the river Menka, Polatsk from the river Palata, and Vitsebsk from the river Vitsba. In historical sources from 1142 to the 16th century, the city is mentioned as Hom, Homye, Homiy, Homey and these forms are tentatively explained as derivatives of an unattested *gomŭ of uncertain meaning. The modern name for the city has been in use only since the 16th–17th centuries, during the Soviet period, another story about the citys name was popular, raftsmen on the river Sozh supposedly warned each other about the danger of running into sandy shallows by shouting «Ho. A more recent narrative, propagated by some researchers, is that the name is derived from an ancient Belarusian greeting, «Dats u homel». Gomel was founded at the end of the 1st millennium AD on the lands of the Eastern Slavic tribal union of Radimichs and it lays on the banks of the Sozh river and the Homeyuk stream. Sozhs high right bank, cut through by canyons, provided a natural fortification, for some time, Gomel was the capital of the Gomel Principality, before it became part of the Principality of Chernigov. Gomel is first mentioned in the Hypatian Codex under the year of 1142 as being territory of the princes of Chernigov, under Oleg, Gomel went to the Principality of Novhorod-Siverskyi. The next ruler was Igor Svyatoslavich – the hero of The Tale of Igors Campaign, during this period, the town was a fortified point and the centre of a volost. In the 12th–13th centuries the area was not less than 40 ha. Archeological data have shown that the city was damaged during the Mongol-Tatar assault in the first half of the 13th century. In 1335, the Gomel region was joined to the Great Duchy of Lithuania by Algirdas, during the Second Muscovite-Lithuanian War of 1500–1503 Lithuania tried to regain Gomel and other lands transferred to Moscow, but suffered defeat and lost one-third of its territory. In 1535, Lithuanian and Polish forces under Jerzy Radziwiłł, Jan Tarnowski and Andrzej Niemirowicz re-captured the city after the surrender of Moscows deputy, in the same year, the Great Duke of Lithuania Sigismund Kęstutaitis founded the Gomel Starostwo. According to the agreement of 1537, Gomel together with its volost remained a Lithuanian possession. In 1535–1565 Gomel is the centre of starostwo, and from 1565 onwards Gomel is in the Rechytsa Powiat of the Minsk Voivodeship, in 1560, the citys first coat of arms was introduced. In 1569, Gomel became part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, from this moment on, the city became the arena of numerous attacks and battles between Cossaks, Russia and the Polish-Lithuania Commonwealth. In 1572, Gomel Starostwo was given to B, at the beginning of the 1570s, Gomel was captured by the forces of Ivan the Terrible, but in 1576 it was re-captured by J. Radziwiłł

2.
Svietlahorsk
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Svietlahorsk is a town in the Svietlahorsk District of Gomel Region of Belarus, the administrative center of the rajon. It is located by the Berezina River and has 68,593 inhabitants, svietlаhorsk-na-Biarezinie is also a railroad station on the Zhlobin — Kalinkavichy railway line. Within Svietlahorsk there are many activities and organizations. Within Svietlahorsk there is an Orthodox church and cathedral, a Catholic church, a quay, Svietlahorsk is the region worst affected by HIV-AIDS in Belarus. Although the city accounts for less than 1% of the population of Belarus, around 6% of the adult population in Svietlahorsk is HIV positive. Svietlahorsk, like much of Gomel Region, suffered extensive radioactive fallout after the Chernobyl Accident of 1986 and this has led to significant health and ecological issues in the city and surrounding countryside

3.
Rechytsa
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Rechytsa is a city in the Gomel Region of Belarus. It is center of Rechytsa District, the city is situated at the mouth of Rechytsa River, flowing into the Dnieper. As of 2005 the population was 65,532, Rechytsa is one of the oldest towns of Belarus. First settlements in region are dated back to the epoch of mesolite. Later on the area was inhabited by the Dregovichi tribe, the town was first mentioned in the Novgorod chronicle in 1213 as a town of the Chernihiv Principality. Rechytsa was also ruled by Kiev and Turaŭ Grand Dukes, at the time of Gediminas reign the town was annexed to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Rečyca as well as Orsha, Shklow, Mogilev, Stary Bychaw, 1392–1430 – the reign of Grand Duke Vytautas. He constructed a castle with five towers in the area of the detinets on the bank of the Dniepr. At that time the town had three lines in the form of water trenches and ramparts with bastions. In the area between the fortress and the fortification line there was a territory for rich mansions, Church of the Order of Friars Preachers. The town inhabitants settled lived between the second and third fortification lines, the construction of the town had clear right-angled forms. In 1561 the town was granted the Magdeburg rights. In the middle of the 17th century Rechytsa was practically destroyed during the Cossack war of 1648–1651, after the Truce of Anrusovo the town became a part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1793 Rechytsa joined Russia and became a center of the Minsk province. The first permanent town plan of Rechytsa was approved in 1800, during the Napoleon Wars in 1812 the town was a temporary residence of the Minsk governor. –1.77 thousand 2005 –65.5 thousand 2006 –65.4 thousand 2007 –65.3 thousand 2010 –64.7 thousand Rechytsa products are known in the CIS member-states as well as in other countries. Rechyca produces watercrafts, furniture, beer, which are exported to England, Germany, vladimir Matyushenko Official site Official site

4.
Zhlobin
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Zhlobin is a city in the Zhlobin District of Gomel Region of Belarus, on the Dnieper river. As of 2012, the population is 80.200, the city is notable for being the location where steelmaker BMZ was established. BMZ is one of the largest companies in Belarus, and an important producer in the markets of steel wires. The company is the sustainer of the towns economy. In 1939, 19% of the population was Jewish. During World War II, the Germans captured the Jews and imprisoned them in 2 different ghettos, on April 12,1942,1,200 Jews were murdered in the ghettos

5.
Chachersk
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Chachersk is a city in the Gomel Region of Belarus, an administrative center of the Chachersk district. It is located in an area which is highly contaminated due to the fallout of the Chernobyl disaster, the town was founded in the late 10th century on the Sozh River. It was first mentioned in chronicles in 1159 as the city Radimichi Chachersk, sometime later a castle was built in the area. In 1772 it became part of Russia, as the center of the county in the province Rogachev, then borough, and parish center of Rogachev district. In 1774 Catherine II of Russia in collaboration with a local governor helped build the hall, churches, a theater,2 hospitals. Redevelopment of the city took place, with the destruction of the castle and the fortifications, there are two surviving unique sights of the 18th century - the Holy Transfiguration Church and Town Hall in Chachersk. The Holy Transfiguration Church was built in classicism style 1783 and has international architectural worth, during Operation Barbarossa in 1941, Nazi Germany captured the town and established a ghetto for Chachersks Jewish population. The Jews of Chachersk, as well as neighboring Romani, were exterminated in December 1941. Since 1919, Chachersk has been part of Gomel province in the RSFSR and it officially became a town in 1971. Since 1629 the town has had the privilege of a weekly trade, now the economy of the city is based on the enterprises of the food industry and is a center for arts and crafts. Media related to Chachersk at Wikimedia Commons Photos on Radzima. org

6.
Pietrykaw
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Pietrykaŭ, is a town in Gomel Region, Belarus. It is the seat of Pietrykaŭ District. At the 2009 census, its population was 10,591, Pietrykaŭ is located on the left bank of the Pripyat River,89 kilometres west of Mazyr and 190 kilometres west of the city of Gomel, the regional capital. The names by which it has been known include Petrikov, Petrikovi, Petrikovo, Petrykau, Petrykaw, Pietrykaŭ, Pjetrykav, Pyetrykav, before 1500, the history of Pietrykaŭ is that of the Principality of Turov and Pinsk. In 1502 and 1521 the area was attacked by Tatars from the newly independent Crimean Khanate, the first written mention of Pietrykaŭ goes back to the year 1523, where the community was under the Olelkovich familys Duchy of Slutsk–Kapyl, part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The town became part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569, Pietrykaŭ was administratively placed in the Mazyr District of Minsk Governorate. By the 19th century, it had come under the control of the Chodkiewicz noble Russian family. In 1900, Pietrykaŭ was located in the area of the Russian Empire that allowed resident Jews and had a Jewish community of 2,151,38. 8% of the total population, the town was occupied by the Germans in World War I. It was occupied by the Poles in 1920-1921, during the Polish-Soviet War, Pietrykaŭ received its status as a town in 1923. During World War II, the town was occupied by the Germans, more than 3,000 casualties were suffered by the Soviet troops during the battle for Pietrykaŭ. Pietrykaŭ is located in the affected by the Chernobyl disaster. Among the first industries in Pietrykaŭ were the construction of barges for the river traffic, during the Soviet era the shipyard was expanded and various small manufacturing plants were built, including a bread factory. The town depends upon both river traffic and road traffic for much of its livelihood, there are good road connections with Gomel, Brest and Mazyr. There is no bridge across the Pripyat, but there is ferry service. The regional newspaper Петрыкаўскія навіны is published there

7.
Mazyr
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Mazyr is a city in Gomel Region of Belarus on the Pripyat River about 210 kilometres east of Pinsk and 100 kilometres northwest of Chernobyl and is located at approximately 52°03′N 29°15′E. The total urban area including Kalinkavichy across the river has a population of 150,000, Mozyr is known as a center of oil refining, machine building, and food processing in Belarus. It is home to one of the largest oil refineries in Belarus, the Druzhba pipeline carries crude oil from Russia splitting in two at Mazyr. One pipeline branch is directed into Poland and the one to Ukraine. The right bank of the Pripyat River, where the city is located, is elevated above the bank at substantial heights. The overfall of surface of that scale is assumed to be a consequence of a glaciation, since both banks of the river are sandy, the right bank is cut through by a number of great ravines. The city is located on the ravines, so its streets look much like streets of a mountain town. One of the ravines is proclaimed a reserve, some of the nearby ravines are currently also equipped with ski lifts and transformed into skiing winter resorts. Mazyr once had a sizable Jewish population, during World War II, many Jews were executed by the Nazis in Mazyr. There are several memorials devoted to this in the modern city, as with other Soviet cities, during approximately the last 15 years of the Communist control, a large proportion of the remaining Jews have relocated abroad, mostly to Israel and United States. In 1986, the city suffered from radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl accident. Mazyr is one of the oldest cities of historical Ruthenia, first mentioned in the mid-12th century as part of Duchy of Vladimir, and then the Duchy of Kiev. In the 13th century it was conquered by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, initially a small settlement, in the 15th century it was donated to Duke Michael Glinski, who converted it into a town. The city received town rights first from king Stefan Batory in 1577, despite having been destroyed by Russian forces twice, the city continued to grow and following the Union of Lublin it became a major administrative and trade centre, as well as a seat of a powiat. In 1648 there was a conflict during the Khmelnytsky Uprising, between 1723 and 1726 the Jesuits created a school in Mozyr under auspice of the Academy of Vilna. Following the suppression of the order in 1773 the school was secularised and continued to exist as a gymnasium, among its most famous graduates are Edward Piekarski and Władysław Mazurkiewicz. In 1793, following the Partitions of Poland, the town was annexed by Russia, in the 19th century the town grew rapidly, mostly because of the Russian Pale of Settlement policy that allowed Jews to settle only in the lands once held by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Because of that Mozyr grew to over 10 thousand inhabitants by the end of the century, during the Polish-Soviet War of 1920 the town was captured by the Polish Army in the so-called Mozyr Operation

8.
Vietka
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Vietka is a small, historical town in Belarus, situated on the bank of the Sozh River. It is the centre in Vietka Rajon in Gomel Region. It was established in 1685 by the Old Believer Priest Group ) who were known as the Theodesians, at the time it was founded, Vetka was on Lithuanian territory. The towns prosperity brought on the wrath of the Russian Empire and as result, Vetka, on the left bank of the Sozh River, is located in an area which was highly radioactive due to the nuclear fallout of the Chernobyl disaster that occurred on April 26,1986. The town is named Vietka after an island in the Sozh River, Vietka means branch in Belarusian language. The town is located in the Homiel region on the bank of the Sozh River and is surrounded by forest. It is situated 22 kilometres away from Homiel, the Homiel and Dobruš road passes through the town. It has 139 inhabited areas in 57 resettled suburbs in the district which extends over an area of 156.3 km2, as of 2003, the population of the district was 19,700. While urban population was 9,000 in 1992, the population of Vietka town was 5,982, during this period six rope plants and six windmills, four forges, four stone and 120 wooden shops were reported. The population of Vetka increased to 7,200 in 1997, the main vocations were of jewellery, small trade and handicrafts with the Jews concentrating on timber trading, operating from Vietka wharf. The Old Believer Priest Group, known as Theodesians, believed in Jesus of Nazareth and they found favour with the Tsars and the Imperial Government vis-à-vis the Non-Priest Group. After moving to Vetka, they practiced their religion with freedom and this resulted in Vetka becoming a town of about 40,000 people around 1730. Thus, during the 17th–18th centuries, in Vietka and surrounding suburbs with neighbouring settlements and it became known as the centre of Raskolniks with distinct assimilation and preservation of the traditions of the Moscow Russia. The main square of the town was named the Red Square, as in Moscow. This ensued a period of the proliferation of the culture of icon painting and manuscript book design. However, in 1733 Anna of Russia forced the Vietka Old Believer Group to relocate to Russia, epifane, the Bishop of the Vietka community, was subject to incarceration in 1733. Following this, those living in villages around Vietka organized themselves, however, this was not tolerated by Catherine the Great and the entire group of Old Believers were forcibly transported to Siberia thus putting an end to their presence in Vietka. Finally, in 1772, the Russian Empire took over Vietka, ships were manufactured here from 1840 and the rich people of the town were known to own steamships

9.
Brahin, Belarus
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Brahin is a town in Belarus and an administrative center of Brahin Rajon. It stands on the banks of Braginka river,28 km from the nearest railway, the settlement is first mentioned in the Hypatian Codex in 1147 as the important town of the Kiyv princedom. A significant part of Brahins population traditionally was of Jewish descent, by the end of 19th century,2254 of 4311 inhabitants were Jewish. After that, Jews were led out in groups to the edge of the village, as a result of the Chernobyl disaster, areas of the Brahin district was radioactively contaminated. 52 settlements were resettled,9 of which are buried, from Brahin itself 1,651 families were resettled. Media related to Brahin at Wikimedia Commons Brahin at Belarus. by

10.
Gomel Region
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Gomel Region or Homyel’ Voblasć is one of the regions of Belarus. The total area of the region is 40,400 square kilometres, important cities within the region include, Gomel, Mazyr, Zhlobin, Svietlahorsk, Rečyca, Kalinkavičy, Rahačoŭ, Dobruš. Both the Gomel Region and the Mogilev Region suffered severely after the Chernobyl nuclear reactor catastrophe, the Gomel Province borders the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in places, and parts of it is designated as mandatory or voluntary resettlement areas as a result of the radioactive contamination. Gomel Region comprises 21 rajons and 2 city municipalities. Raions comprises 278 selsovets,17 cities and towns.200 Vietka –7,800 Čačersk –7,700 Vasilievičy –4,500 Brahin –-3,700 Turaŭ –3,200 Сity municipalities, Gomel, Mazyr. Pripyatsky National Park covers 2% of the territory of the region, eleven wildlife preserves of national importance cover 2. 1% of the region. The extreme southern point of Belarus is located in Gomel Region, on the Dnieper River to the south of the settlement of Kamaryn. 3rd the largest lake in Belarus Čyrvonaje Lake is situated in Gomel Region, the processing industry is represented by alcohol, alcoholic beverage, wine, beer and soft drinks, vegetable-drying and canning industries. Gomel Region is a transport hub. Major railway junctions include Gomel, Zhlobin, and Kalinkavichy, Gomel is located at the intersection of the highways 95E Odessa – Kiev – St. Petersburg, Bakhmach – Vilnius, and M10 Bryansk – Brest. River transport is common in the region with regular navigation on the Pripyat, Dnieper. The number of agencies in Gomel Region has grown from 21 in 2000 to 54 in 2010. Main tourist destinations of the region are Pripyatsky National Park and Gomel, Gomel Regional Executive Committee Homel Region, Epicentre Of Troubles That Bore Celebrities